The criminal underworld was in chaos. The leader of the Irish mob was in hospital, surrounded by police, days away from being transferred to prison. Every gang looking to make their mark on the world saw a golden opportunity. The only thing that was stopping an all out gang war was Maura Isles, the daughter of Patty Doyle, and therefore the heir to her father's criminal empire. When Maura went to visit her father he told her that she had to take over, at least temporarily, or thousands of people would die. He handed her his phone and told her it was up to her now.
Maura arrived at work, early as usual, ready to begin the day's work. She looked at the first body on her table and prepared to begin her examination.
Her phone rang. Except, it wasn't exactly her phone, it was her father's. Reluctantly, she took it out of her pocket and answered it. "Hello," she said, trying her very best not to seem scared but not succeeding.
"Boss, no offence but you sound different," said a man.
"I'm ... Patty's daughter," she explained.
"Oh, well then nice to meet you Patty's daughter. See, I got this problem. There's this cop that keeps tailin' me. She won't back off and it's kinda hard to do my business with a cop hangin' around. Says her name's Jane Rizzolli. Whadaya want me to do?" he asked.
"Um ... well ... I ... I'll take care of it. Just ... just hold on a minute," she said, hanging up the phone. She wanted to scream, or run, or both. But she couldn't, there were too many lives at stake. So she took a deep breath, and then she took a few more, and then she rang Jane.
"Rizzolli," she said.
"Hi," said Maura, unsure of what else to say.
"Maura! I'm so glad you called. I missed you," she said.
"Yeah, I missed you too. I just ... I need you to come to the station," said Maura, trying to find a way to not lie and yet not tell her the complete truth.
"What, why?" asked Jane, confused.
"Please, Jane. For me," said Maura.
"Okay, I'll be there in ten," said Jane, ending the call. A few seconds later Patty's phone rang again.
"Hello," said Maura, slightly more confidently then the first time she'd answered.
"Patty's daughter, you did good. That cop hit the road faster than anyone I've ever seen. I dunno what you did, but I like it. I hope you're stickin' round, cause I could get used to this," he said.
"Don't count on it. And don't call me unless you have a problem. People who annoy me have a way of finding themselves at the bottom of a lake," said Maura, hanging up. For the first time in her life, she had lied. She lied because she was scared, scared weakness would lead to her assassination, scared if she wasn't tough enough people wouldn't do what she said, scared that people would die because of her. She felt bad that she had lied, she felt sick at what her father was turning her into.
She looked at the body in front of her. Somehow doing an autopsy didn't seem as interesting as it usually did. The adrenaline rush she had just had gave her a taste of excitement that she had never known. She was usually content to do autopsies, to solve the mystery of how they died, to help Jane solve her case. Jane. Jane was coming in ten minutes. Maura had no idea what she was going to tell her. By the time Jane arrived Maura still didn't know. "Maura!" said Jane as she ran from the elevator to her best friend.
"Hi ... um ... thanks for coming," said Maura, stalling for time.
"You know I'd do anything for you," said Jane. Maura forced a smile, but Jane saw right through it. "Maura, what's wrong? Why'd you bring me here?" asked Jane.
"I can't tell you why ... but I need you to stay here," said Maura.
"What? Maura, I can't do that! I have a job and I'm tracking this guy who might have a connection to the mob. I'm like this close to finding evidence that'll put him away for good," said Jane.
"I don't want you to get hurt," said Maura, a tear forming in her eye.
"What are you talking about? I'll be fine, okay? Look, in an hour I'll be back with my evidence and we'll laugh over how worried you were," said Jane, smiling, turning to walk away. Maura knew she had to do something. She grabbed Jane's arm and pulled Jane back to her. They looked into each other's eyes and finally gave into what they'd been fighting for so many years. Maura kissed Jane and Jane kissed her back.
Patty's phone rang. To Jane's surprise, Maura pulled back to answer the call. "Hello," said Maura confidently, watching Jane play with her medical equipment out of boredom.
"Boss, are you okay? You sound like you swallowed helium!" said a man.
"What do you want?" asked Maura harshly, eager to get back to Jane.
"These people started shooting at us! Said that you were dead and this was their turf now," said the man.
"Well then give them a taste of their own medicine," said Maura, hanging up the phone. She looked at Jane and went to kiss her again but Jane's phone rang. They both sighed.
"Rizzolli," she said. After two minutes Jane hung up the phone. "I have to go, but I'll be back real soon I promise. They've figured out who took over from Doyle," said Jane as she walked to the elevator. "I love you," she said as she pressed the Up button.
"I love you too," said Maura as Jane got into the elevator. She watched the doors close and realised that they couldn't be together, that this was probably the last time she would see Jane. Once Jane found out the truth it would all be over. Maura ran to the nearest exit, jumped in her car and sped off down the highway.